01/16/15 01/16/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica this is democracy now! >> i don't know if climate change is all man's fault, but the majority is. for the most part, it is man who continuously slept down nature. we have come in a sense, lorded over nature, over sister earth over mother earth. >> weeks after pope francis announced he would urge 1.2 billion catholics worldwide to

take action on climate change, he is in the philippines for the country hardest hit by global warming. he's meeting with survivors of several typhoons that devastated the country. we will go to manila for the latest. we will speak with philippines climate change commissioner yeb sano who rocked do and climate summit in warsaw and doha. >> as we speak, there's widespread devastation. the munication lines are down, power lines are down, and hundreds are missing. hundreds are buried behind mud and debris. >> then, to nigeria, where satellite images of towns attacked by boko haram show widespread destruction, and are feared dead. it was nine months ago that the #bringourgirlshome drew the world's attention to boko haram's abduction of some 270 schoolgirls, most of whom remain unaccounted for, though some have escaped and described their ordeal.

>> when i returned home after might escape, people would tell me not to dwell on my experiences. my dreams are filled with regret for announcing a religion instead of enduring the abuse of the insurgents. >> we'll host a roundtable discussion on boko haram in nigeria with amnesty international's adotei akwei human rights watch rona peligal, of human rights watch, and professor horace campbell, author of "the menace of boko , haram and fundamentalism in nigeria." all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. police in france, belgium and germany have made arrests over the past 24 hours in a series of raids targeting suspected islamic militants.

in belgium, police killed two men who reportedly opened fire on them during one of about a dozen raids. police say the men recently returned from syria. 13 other people were arrested in belgium. in germany, police arrested two turkish men suspected of having links to an organization supporting the self-described islamic state. and in france police arrested 12 arrested people suspected of aiding amedy coulibaly, the kosher supermarket attacker. meanwhile, the french government has announced it will award french citizenship to a muslim man from mali who has been credited with saving the lives of several customers during last week's hostage situation at the kosher supermarket in paris. lassana bathily hid shoppers in a cooler during the attack and then escaped to alert police to the hostage situation. >> when i ran downstairs, i went to the freezer. several people came with me and

switched off the light. i switched off the freezer. the people who were with me, one with a two-year-old baby, in the room, i pushed the two women behind the door and told them, you stay here and stay calm. i will get out. >> lassana bathily will also be given france's highest honor, the legion d'honneur. in dresden, germany, police are investigating the death of a 20-year-old asylum seeker from eritrea. the man was found on tuesday morning with multiple stab wounds. dresden has been at the center of recent protests against islam and immigration. in its first lethal injection since a botched one last spring, the state of oklahoma executed charles warner on it took him 18 thursday. minutes to die -- about twice as long as the average. his final words were "my body is on fire." lawyers for warner had criticized the state for using midazolam, a drug that is not approved for general anesthesia. warner was originally scheduled to die last april.

his execution was postponed after the botched killing of clayton lockett who died of a heart attack 43 minutes after the execution began. the same night warner was to be executed. during the trial of jeffrey sterling, the former national security advisor condoleezza rice revealed thursday she personally pushed "the new york times" to kill a news article about a secret operation to disrupt iran's nuclear program. sterling's discharge with revealing classified information to new york times reporter james risen. rice told the court the white house relies on two main ways to block publication of news articles. they can essentially confirm the report but are gearing it is too important to national security to be published or they can say the reporter has it wrong. amnesty international is reporting saudi arabia has postponed the scheduled flogging of jailed activist raif badawi. badawi was arrested in 2012 after setting up a website for

political and social debate. he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes -- 20 batches of 50 lashings each after friday prayers. today's lashings were reportedly postponed for medical reasons. after he was lashed last friday. the united nations is calling on israel to unlock $127 million in taxes owed to the palestinian authority that were withheld after it decided to join the international criminal court. a senior u.n. official, jens anders toyberg frandzen, told the security council that the freeze was in violation of the oslo agreements between israel and the palestinians. >> we call on israel to immediately resume the transfer of tax revenue. the israeli-palestinian conflict is entering uncharted territory, which seems to have dashed any image it hoped of returning to peace talks. >> riyad mansour, palestinian ambassador to the united

nations, said his government was undeterred by israel's actions. >> the focused must be on ending this belligerent colonial israeli occupation in all its manifestations and realizing international consensus for a peaceful solution. we will continue to reject all of the irrational arguments against are peaceful, nonviolent, political, diplomatic, and legal endeavors and will continue on this path for justice and peace. >> in news from iran, the jailed american journalist jason rezaian has been indicted five months after his arrest. he is the washington post's bureau chief in tehran. he will be tried in a revolutionary court. it is still not known what he is being charged with. the obama administration has announced sweeping new rules that will significantly ease sanctions on cuba while opening up the island to expanded u.s. travel, trade and financial activities. the new regulations will allow americans to travel to cuba for any of a dozen specific reasons,

including family visits, education and religion, without first obtaining a special license from the u.s. government. but general tourism will still be banned. while the overall trade embargo remains, the new rules will also make it easier for u.s. companies to export mobile phone devices and software as well as to provide internet services in cuba. a major new scientific study has concluded humans are on the verge of causing unprecedented damage to the oceans and the animals living in them. the ecologist douglas mccauley who wrote the study said -- "we may be sitting on a precipice of a major extinction event." the report said coral reefs have declined by 40% worldwide, and carbon emissions are altering the chemistry of seawater, making it more acidic. the study appears in the new issue of science. the parents of an ohio man accused of plotting to attack the u.s. capitol say their son

was entrapped by the fbi. the government accuses of christopher cornell of planning to set off pipe bombs and open fire on congressional officials and staffers. the former high school wrestler was arrested outside the point blank range & gun shop after purchasing ammunition and guns. his father accused the fbi of setting cornell up by giving him money to purchase the weapons. his parents spoke to wcpo on thurday. >> he was a good kid. he would do anything in the world for you. he would not hurt nobody. >> he might be 20, but he was more like a 16-year-old kid. he played video games. his best friend is a cap. he may have lost his way somewhere in there, but i believe he was really vulnerable and i believe he was coerced in a lot of ways. >> massachusetts state police arrested 29 people who stopped traffic on two sections of a major highway into boston during

the morning rush hour thursday to protest the recent killings by u.s. police of unarmed black men. protesters chained themselves to concrete barrels on the roadway. in a statement, organizer katie seitz said -- "our nonviolent direct action is meant to expose the reality that boston is a city where white commuters and students use the city and leave, while black and brown communities are targeted by police, exploited and displaced." meanwhile, dozens of protesters marched down pennsylvania avenue in washington d.c. on thursday. eugene puryear helped organize the march. >> whether it is in the streets getting petitions were protesting or whether it is folks having teach ins and talking more about these issues, whether it is people pushing legislation, i mean, from the streets to the legislative chambers, what we're seeing around this country is people continue to push forward on this issue, and i think there's no better way to honor the bar --

birthday of dr. martin luther king jr. than to get in the streets. clocks the 2015 oscars nominations were announced thursday. for the first time in almost two decades, all 20 acting nominees are white. the dramatic civil rights film "selma" was nominated for just two -- best film and best original song. the director was not nominated. the twitter hashtag #oscarssowhite began trending on thursday. a 2012 survey conducted by the "los angeles times" found oscar voters are 94% white, 76% male and the average age is 63 years old. meanwhile, laura poitras' film "citizenfour" about edward snowden was nominated for best documentary. the former u.s. ambassador to el salvador robert white has died at the age of 88. in 1981, he was fired after he refused to cover up the salvadoran military's

responsibility for the murders of four american women who were maryknoll church workers. white was there when the women's bodies were dug up. he was quoted as saying -- "this time the bastards won't get away with it." and those are some of the headlines, this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> welcome to all our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. just weeks after pope francis announced he would urge 1.2 billion catholics worldwide to take action on climate change, he is visiting the philippines and meeting with survivors of several typhoons that devastated the country. the philippines is asia's largest catholic nation and 80% of the its 100 million residents are catholic. the pope celebrated mass today in manila's cathedral after being greeted thursday by hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters who braved

hours of sweltering heat to glimpse his motorcade. on saturday, he heads to tacloban, to have lunch with survivors of typhoon haiyan -- known as "typhoon yolanda" in the philippines. the pope commended the resilience of those who lived though the devastating superstorm. >> this is meant to express my closeness to our brothers and sisters who endured suffering loss, and devastation caused by typhoon yolanda. i admire the road strength faith, and resilience demonstrated by so many philippines in the face of the natural disaster and so many others. >> in 2013, the powerful typhoon left more than 7,300 dead and

missing. it leveled entire villages in the central philippines, including leyte province, which the pope will visit saturday to console survivors. last month, pope francis announced his upcoming encyclical on the environment -- the first-ever comprehensive vatican teachings on climate change. speaking to reporters on his flight from sri lanka to manila, he said he believes human beings are primarily responsible for climate change. >> i don't know if climate is all man's fault, but the majority is. for the most part, it is man who continuously slaps down nature. we have come in a sense, lorded over nature, over sister, over mother earth. i think man has gone too far. thank god today there are voices that are speaking about this. >> in a minute we will go to manila, the capital of the philippines, to speak with yeb sano, the country's climate change commissioner.

until recently, he was the country's lead climate negotiator at the united nations climate conferences where he drew links between climate change and the deadly typhoons the philippines has faced. this is a clip of his address in 2013 at the u.n. climate change conference in poland where he spoke about typhoon haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded. >> typhoons such as haiyan represent the suffering from the international community that we cannot afford to delay climate action. warsaw must deliver innovation and must muster the political will to address climate change and build a important bridge toward peru and paris. it might be said it must be poetic justice that typhoon haiyan was so big its diameter spanned the distance between warsaw and paris. mr. president in doha, we ask if not us, then who?

if not now, then when? if not here, then where? but here in warsaw, we may very well ask the same four detroit questions. what my country is going through as a result of this extreme, event is madness. the climate crisis is madness. mr. president, we can stop this madness right here in warsaw. >> yeb sano speaking in 2013 at the u.n. summit in warsaw. he joins us now from manila in the philippines, currently reading a group of eco-violent tear -- eco-volunteer bicycles, monitoring the cleanliness and ensuring the implementation of the church's zero waste policy. yeb sano, welcome back to democracy now! can you talk about the significance of the pope issuing soon the first encyclical ever,

change and visiting the philippines, the country hardest hit by global warming in the world? >> hello. happy to be back on your program. yes, the encyclical from a pope is considered a very important document probably second in rank only to the constitution. and that means a lot in terms of settling any theological debate about this issue. the vatican affirmed the reality of climate change and declared it is a serious threat to humanity and to the entire worlds, especially for the poorest people on earth. our eager anticipation for pope francis's encyclical on climate change is -- cannot be

contained. we anticipate that with much gladness because it shows us that there is hope in confronting climate change. we have been negotiating this issue at the political level for more than 20 years, and we look to pope francis to untangle this stalemate. because this issue is beyond merely a political issue. it is a moral profound moral issue that affects the whole world. the pope, who is been for outspoken in the past two years regarding climate change and the environment, then this can be the game changer for the international process. this gives us a lot of hope, indeed. >> yeb sano, the announcement from the pope he would have this

encyclical out before the meeting of world leaders in paris on the environment later this year? >> sorry, i did not get that. >> i said the announcement by the pope that he would have his encyclical out before the gathering of world leaders in paris later on this year to deal with an accord on climate change, the significance of that? >> yes, that means the pope and the church recognizes the importance of 2015 as an important milestone for the whole world. we cannot afford to ignore that deadline again. this is merely a deadline. we postponed it in 2009 in copenhagen. the world cannot afford another delay because any delay in action, any delay in confronting the climate change crisis is a

form of injustice, especially to the world's poor. pope francis is a pope for the poor. , change affects the poor the most. the pope will do everything in his power and within his influence to convince everyone that climate change must be tackled head on. >> ahead of last year's u.n. climate conference in lima peru, pope francis wrote a letter to organizers noting that climate change will -- "affect all of humanity, especially the poorest and future generations. what's more, it represents a serious ethical and moral responsibility." that brings us to your absence from lima, peru. you rocked the summits in doha and warsaw. at the time come each year, your

country, the philippines devastated by these typhoons. what happened in lima, peru? was the speculation accurate that the philippines removed you , not to be the chief negotiator, because you had become so vocal and had been addressing the most powerful countries, the countries that admitted more carbon -- committed more carbon, more fossil fuel emissions, like the united states? >> that was the speculation at that time. today, it remains unclear for me why that happened, why i was not in lima. but perhaps it is right that i may be overly vocal about the issues of climate justice and how he must hold accountable those who are hugely responsible for this man-made problem. >> will you be in paris for the

summit there? will you be representing your country? >> that remains to be seen amy. i remain as commissioner for climate change. i think i will be in paris regardless of what capacity that would be, because i believe paris is such an important moment in our history and we cannot let it pass without a successful outcome. and so it behooves me as a citizen of this world, as a catholic, to be there and fight for the future of humanity. >> yeb sano, i want to ask about the vatican zero waste policy and what you have done differently with this visit of the pope that perhaps has not been done in previous visits in other countries? >> basically, we were recruited

by the church as a group of environment list -- environment list bikers coming from different organizations including government and we were just happy to humbly serve in that capacity. we're just keeping the streets clean, telling people to keep this visit trash-free because the pope is an advocate for the environment and he has so many times reminded us about the care and the dangers of unbridled consumerism. so we are merely executing this extrication coming from the pope. -- x or tatian coming from the pope. it would be a shame if the visit from a pope considered to be a defender of mother earth would see -- the whole world would see manila in the places that he would visit be littered with

trash. at the very least, we should prevent that and educate people about the pope's advocacy on the environment. >> as you speak to a global audience right now, yeb sano what is your message -- in particular to people here in the united states? >> my message would be that climate change is a moral issue. it is an issue which demands all of us not to use merely our minds, but he's our hearts. climate change affects real lives, reliably hoods. it affects the poorest people honored. it behooves us to confront it. it is a moral responsibility. i agree with the pope it is a moral responsibility, not just recognizing that it should be

confronted but a moral responsible to act on climate change. >> i want to ask about tackled one where the -- tacloban, were the pope is visiting. how is the population the recovering? >> it is a mixed set of outcomes so far. we know many organizations including the government, has done a lot to help people get back on their feet and pick up the pieces but it is easier said than done. it is a complex undertaking. we know disaster is not just a factor, it is not just a function of hazards, it is -- it also involves a lot of underlying fundamental things that even the pope points to, which is the economic system that pervades the whole world,

and economic system that increases disasters and increases climate risk and destroys the environment. and that is something that we are merely scratching the surface on. we have to confront all of those realities in order for us to truly be able to build back better and earnestly get people back on their feet. we see a lot of good stories in tacloban and other affected areas by the super typhoon from a couple of years ago, but a lot of things still need to be done in order to really build communities that are truly resilient and can stand on their feet for many years to come. it is about confronting poverty and confronting unemployment and many other they signed of element issues. -- baselined of element issues. we see a lot of encouraging signs, but we cannot stop the

work that we've started to do. >> yeb sano, the pope will celebrate a public mass in manila that government officials say this could draw more than 5 million people. in 2013 during his first christmas mass as head of the catholic church, pope francis called for peace and protection of the environment. he preached outreach to atheists and called for protection of the environment from "greed and rapacity." >> lord of heaven and earth, look upon our planet. frequently exploited by human greed and rapacity. help detect all victims of natural disasters, especially the beloved people of the philippines gravely affected by the recent typhoon. >> yeb sano, as we wrap up, the pope asked connections between change and capitalism. if you could comment on that and then the specific issue of loss and damage.

it has become a kind of buzz word at u.n. summits but what it actually means on the ground. big and with the issue of climate change and capitalism. >> the pope has been proven to be a leader who defends the poor, defends the marginalized, and finds a lot of courage to put the finger on reality that we confront as a planet. he does not hesitate to point to capitalism and an economic system centered on the god of money. i'm using his words. that relies on the plunder of nature to fulfill and satisfy the kind of consumption that is inherent in such an economic system. i am incurred to hear -- i am

encouraged to hear the leader of the catholic say that because it is, in fact, the case. unless we come to terms with such realization, we cannot confront and solve climate change. as to the issue of loss and damage, this is related to the notion of historical responsibility and accountability. and we know climate change, and i truly believe, climate change is the result of economic order that has destroyed the planet, that drives the gap between the rich and poor wider, and destroys the social moral fabric as well. and when we talk about loss and damages, this is not a natural occurrence, this is something that we must hold certain people, certain governments accountable for an even corporations. >> yeb sano m a thank you for

being with us naderev "yeb" sano , is the philippines climate change commissioner. speaking to us from manila, the capital of the philippines where on sunday the pope is expected to hold a mass that perhaps 5 million people will attend. the philippines is the hardest hit country by global warming in the world. this is democracy now! democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. when we come back, we're going to nigeria to talk about boko haram. before that, more on the pope. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> we continue our coverage of pope francis's visit to the philippines. he is set to make history by issuing the first-ever comprehensive vatican teachings on climate change. given the sheer number of people who identify as catholics worldwide, the pope's clarion call to tackle climate change could reach far more people than even the largest environmental groups. globally, there are 1.2 billion catholics, of which around 100 million live in the philippines. the pope also plans to address the united nations general assembly and convene a summit of the world's main religions in hopes of bolstering this year's crucial u.n. climate meeting in paris. >> well, for more, we're joined now by nathan schneider. he is a columnist at america magazine, a national catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits, where he has been covering catholic engagement with climate change. his recent blog post is called "a global catholic climate movement, none too soon." nathan schneider is also an editor at waging nonviolence and the author of, "thank you, anarchy: notes from the occupy apocalypse."

we welcome to democracy now! talk about the significance of what the pope is doing around climate change in this year leading up to the paris winding summit. >> it is so important is going to the philippines at this moment, as he is wrapping up the writing of this important encyclical on the environment. the philippines is a reminder that climate change affects the poor first and the most. that is something he recognizes and is so important. this is not a boutique issue. this is not a luxury. this is something that is affecting the most vulnerable people on the planet first. i think that is what the pope is really trying to emphasize and what the people of the philippines are so eager to show the world. >> nathan, you have written in the lead up to this encyclical that he is announcing of the concept of the comments in the church teaching from the medieval times in the christian

church. could you expound on that? >> absolutely. this is a different way of thinking about economics that is a part of have a tradition. pope francis talking about the environment, about creation, is not an innovation. it is a response to contemporary crisis, but it goes way back. it goes back to the scriptures to genesis, to god's enjoyment of stewardship over the years. and in the middle ages, a concept was integrally part of catholic legal tradition that all things are common and that all things are the common inheritance of human beings, the property is kind of the subset of that. and ultimately, it is incumbent on all people to protect the planet and to ensure that it is protected for generations to come. >> the pope recently had to

defend himself against comments that he was communist. can you explain what happened? >> i think that is a red herring. the pope is talking about something that is a part of long-standing catholic social teaching, which is the preferential option for the poor that catholic social reflection should begin with the needs and the voices of the poor. if that is communist, i don't know, there are so many ways in which pope francis wouldn't affirm things that traditional communist marxist doctrine would affirm about atheism and maybe something about state control. another thing that is really important to recognize about coast -- catholic social teaching is the subsidiary that the economies should begin from the local level and build from the ground up. and that is why pope francis and other pokes have talked about the importance of cooperatives.

again, this goes to the comments, a kind of economy that is built by the people, for their needs not for the sake of a market, for the sake of short-term profit. >> and the significance of his choosing and encyclical at this time, with the role of encyclicals within the catholic church? >> this is a very important statement, statement that will be authoritative and will guide the moral reflection of catholics around the world. it also sets a priority that is incredibly important. the p has madeope -- the pope has made a statement before the paris meeting, so he is intending it not just for catholics, but for the world as a statement that this is not just a matter of scientific consensus, this is not -- you know, a debate. this is a matter of moral urgency. >> can you talk about catholics

involvement in the divestment issue, the divestment from fossil fuel industry? >> absolutely. on the one hand, some of our most prominent and vocal catholics in this country, in particular, have been silent on climate change, but that doesn't speak for all catholics. for instance, the university of dayton, a catholic college for recently divested from fossil fuels, announced they would -- a growing number of catholic orders and institutions are looking to do the same. one thing you see and you go around to catholic convents and monasteries around the country is a growing concern for transforming their own lives transforming the way they operate. you see them growing their own food using organic methods. you see them practicing green burial for their dead. you see them leading fights

against hydra fracking, against other forms of carbon extraction. and there really's signature tone. that goes way back. these are traditions that are built on commitments to the land they are on. this goes back to the middle ages. they are built around a commitment to that stewardship that again, goes all the way back to genesis through the tradition up to today. >> nathan schneider, thank you for being with us, columnist at america magazine, a national catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits, where he has been covering catholic engagement with climate change. we will link to your blog "a , global catholic climate movement, none too soon." nathan schneider is also an editor at waging nonviolence and the author of, "thank you, anarchy: notes from the occupy apocalypse." when we come back, boko haram in nigeria. stay with us.

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>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. >> we turn now to nigeria, where satellite images and witness accounts have emerged of what amnesty international calls the "catastrophic destruction" from a massacre in northern nigeria. hundreds are feared dead after boko haram militants attacked baga and surrounding areas earlier this month. before and after images taken of two adjacent towns show thousands of buildings damaged or destroyed. amnesty says one town was completely wiped off the map. one witness who managed to flee

told amnesty -- "i don't know how many, but there were bodies everywhere we looked." the nigerian military has claimed a toll as low as 150 but it could be as high as 2,000. >> on thursday, president obama and british prime minister david cameron issued a joint statement referencing the boko haram slaughter, writing -- "whether we are facing lone fanatics or terrorist organizations such as al-qaeda islamic state or boko haram, we will not be cowed by extremists." and speaking in bulgaria, u.s. secretary of state john kerry responded to concerns the world's attention was. -- world's attention was focused on paris. " with respect to both, let me make it crystal clear. i don't know where the silence is. i've spoken out about boko haram many times and what they have done with respect to the slaughter recently is a crime against humanity. nothing less. it is enormously karen does -- herman does slaughter of

innocent people and boko haram continues to present a serious threat, not just in nigeria and the region but to all of our values our sense of responsibility regarding terrorism. the events in paris just underscore it. they are different skills, obviously, but boko haram is without question one of the most evil and threatening terrorist entities on the planet today. >> boko haram is also suspected in a pair of suicide attacks over the weekend where explosives were strapped to young girls. it was nine months ago that the #bringourgirlshome drew the world's attention to the group's abduction of some 270 schoolgirls, most of whom remain unaccounted for. human rights watch spoke to one woman kidnapped by the group who later escaped.

>> i was forced to carry their bullets. they want me to kill the first man, i wish shaking and i fell down on the ground. >> >> well, for more we're joined by three guests. adotei akwei is managing director of government relations for amnesty international usa. in washington d.c., rona peligal is deputy director of africa division or human rights watch. she edited their report, "those terrible weeks in their camp: boko haram violence against women and girls in northeast nigeria." and joining us by democracy now! video stream, horace campbell is

professor of african american studies and political science at syracuse university. he has written extensively on african politics, including the article, "the menace of boko haram and fundamentalism in nigeria." he is working on a book about u.s. militarism and african independence. welcome all of you to democracy now! let's begin in washington, d.c., with adotei akwei. talk about these maps and what you think at this point has happened and how many casualties you believe there are in northern nigeria as a result of boko haram attacks. >> thank you. amnesty was able to commission satellite imagery that showed baga before and after the attacks. clearly, you can't completely estimate the number of casualties until you actually have physical access, and that

of course, is to dangerous at this point. at the level of destruction during baga, for example, of at least 3000 indicate the number of casualties is probably closer to the 2000 mark and certainly in the several hundreds, which is a far cry from what the nigerian government is claiming, which is 150, as you mentioned earlier. so what it indicates, i think is the major escalation in both the threat of boko haram, the danger that the people in the northern parts of nigeria are facing and, i think, brings into very, very stark view the strategy and response of the nigerian government, which is not working. >> what about that response of the government? your sense from amnesty of what the government and its military is doing to be able to provide some kind of protection to the

people in the north? >> well, the government's statement of 150 casualties follows a pattern of underrepresentation of the threat and of the casualties going back for several years. one can speculate the reasons for that, but the bottom line is that people are being killed people are being displaced -- roughly 500, may be closer to one million, have been internally displaced. institutions like schools government buildings, military barracks, and other institutions have been destroyed. in the northern part of the country seems to have been almost let go as collateral damage, just based on the lack of response or certainly what appears to be a lack of urgency amongst the political leadership and the rest of the country. >> and can you link, rona

peligal of human rights watch what we're seeing now, this latest attack and the possibility that girls as young as 10 were strapped with explosives to kill others and detonate it from a remote site to what we've seen in the last years, the girls being abducted? >> i think there are separate issues, but they're related in so far as they speak to a cycle of violence because between the nigerian security forces and boko haram, with respect to the bringbackourgirls campaign, for example, as your clip shows human rights watch interviewed more than 30 girls who had escaped captivity, girls and women who had been abducted and managed to escape. we found a range of abuses against them while they were in captivity. some, as it were one you mention, were forced to convert, forced to marry, were sexually

abused and raped with her forced to engage in labor and serve in military activities. so we know these girls have been taken and brutal circumstances and endured brutal circumstances. when they get home, there's very little help for them. the bringbackourgirls campaign shine -- showed a spotlight on the girls, but they remain. -- the remain buried and dispersed. if not yet seen the return. >> i would like to ask professor horace campbell of syracuse diversity about american policy in the region. a few years ago, we saw, to much fanfare, president obama's support of the overthrow of qaddafi and the sending of military support to the libyan rebels. what has been the impact of the

overthrow of could awfully in terms of the -- could awfully in terms of the rise of the insurgents of phenomenal as groups? >> thank you, juan. the statement by the secretary of state that we're dealing with crimes against humanity behooves everyone in the world to be involved in suppressing and fighting against crimes against humanity. and what we are describing in northern nigeria and the scale of what has taken place in baga him cannot be the work of some groups of malicious. so we're dealing with many different entities here. in the specific case of nigeria, we're dealing with the political struggles for control of the states so that in the case of

nigeria, we have boko haram or the elements of boko haram that are financed from inside the top levels of the state apparatus in the intensification of the killings and destabilization of nigeria at the moment is directly related to the upcoming and forthcoming elections on the 14th of february. the well-known and nobel peace prize winner, prizewinner for literature presented to the world the fact that there were elements the central bank nigeria for financing boko haram , and that he had the name of the elements from the central bank of nigeria for financing

boko haram. he asked jonathan to give the names to the world because he got the names from a foreign embassy. was that for embassy the united states government? what is the role of the united states government and the knowledge they have about boko haram? that is the first point want to make. the second is, with john kerry what do they know about the role of chad in baga and relationship between chad and those who are providing missiles and resources to boko haram and the stabilization of nigeria? the last point i want to make is, when there was a vote at the united nations about palestine a month ago, john kerry called the nigerian government to change its vote about palestine half an hour before the vote was made he called goodluck jonathan, clearly, they have information

about the compromised leaders in the nigerian state for financing boko haram wrong. why do they not bring that information to the african union, to the united nations, so there is an exposure of all of the forces in chad france, cameron, and nigerian leadership who are financing boko haram? >> that is a very interesting point you raise, the pressure that was put in nigeria on the un security council to vote against -- to vote against palestine on the issue. can you talk more about the u.s.-nigeria relationship, nigeria, the most populous african country, and how boko haram has gained strength there? >> nigeria is by far the most dynamic force in africa.

and what everyone fears at the moment is the mobilization of the nigerian people as the people mobilized in egypt or the people mobilized to remove corrupt elements. there is a merger of forces of exportation in nigeria. malicious are being used against the people -- deliciousmilitias are being used against the people. 40% of the oil wealth from nigeria is siphoned off by the political class. boko haram struggle is a struggle about who will control the billions of dollars, 10,000 barrels of oil a day that is siphoned out of nigeria. the united states government has the information about bunkering about exploitive capital, about financing boko haram.

the united states government used that information selectively in order to get what they want from the nigerian government. 40 years ago, the president of nigeria was called by henry kissinger when the nigerian supported the angolans and cubans in southern africa. the nigerians were very important at that point to tell henry kissinger, go to hell. our taliban, and for the president -- martella mohammed, the president of nigeria, was killed. he was not going along with what the united states want. we need a movement to expose the collusion between the united states, the oil companies, and the political class who use elements such as nigeria and boko haram to destabilize a jury in society. >> in terms of the spread of

boko haram, is it your sense that they are gaining support in the population in the north potential for a possible split of the country between the mostly muslim north and the christian south? >> no. no. nigerians are too sophisticated for that. what they fear is an uprising of nigerian working people, men and women, young people all over the country from north, south, east, and west. there is an alliance between all of the oppressors in the region, including the united states. what we must ask ourselves is, how is it the former governor becomes part of the delegation of the government of chad when we have this notion that chad was going to be a mediator? in the government of nigeria spent millions of dollars to organize bringing back the

guerrillas, only to find out that elements from within the chadian government were supplying weapons and missiles to boko haram from sudan. there is a wide web that we need to penetrate and investigate that we're not really dealing with something wild eyed people. there is a conspiracy against the nigerian people so that nigeria is not stable, peaceful, so the people can have a good quality of life. >> adotei akwei, do you share professor campbell's analysis? how does this play out in what we're seeing today, the attack on women and girls, the attack on whole communities? >> well, i think professor campbell's analysis goes a little bit beyond amnesty's mandate, but i think there are a couple of elements there i would have to say are very on point. one, i think the threat of regional instability is clear.

cameroon, chad niger -- all of those are countries that are now looking at perhaps not a direct challenge to the whole authority of the state, but certainly, the erosion of state -- further erosion of state control and those are all fragile states. i think another point of dr. campbell's analysis about the flow of weapons is extremely accurate. in addition to the supplies or the weapons that have come down after the fall of the market off he in libya -- muammar gaddafi in libya, there are the facilitation of weapons. there is clearly credible reports about collusion in support for boko haram within the nigerian military. and i think it most important point is that there definitely needs to be a much larger groundswell of pressure on the

nigerian authorities, as well as the international community, to come up with an effective response to boko haram and what they're doing to the nigerian people in the northern part of the country. >> rona peligal, the issue of the kidnapped girls. despite all this international attention, no success in locating them. does your organization have any sense of what is happening there and does anyone know where they are? >> we actually don't know specifically where they are for even satellite imagery would not show that. obviously, a rescue of the girls is very complicated from a number of points of view. primarily, because one such military response, for example could endanger the girls themselves. we know they are with insurgents who are heavily armed. it is a very difficult situation, but i think one that does call for more regional and international cooperation. >> thank you all for being with us, rona peligal, adotei akwei

a professor horace campbell. we will link to all of your reports at democracynow.org. tune into our martin luther king special on monday. you don't want to miss it. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who apprecia